Question:

If a Christian sins purposefully again and again and keeps asking for forgiveness, will God forgive him?

Answer:

First, we again bring up the thought that this person may not truly be saved. But, if he truly is, then 1 John 1:9 would apply to this person. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The Word is full of examples of saints who fell into sin. These can teach us and warn us that we can also fall into sin if we are not following the Lord closely.  However, if we confess our sins to the Lord, He is faithful and just … He will forgive and cleanse us. 

Question:

What is the purpose of the 4 Gospels?

Answer:

First, the Lord inspired four writers to write the account of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He wanted the four accounts to be written. 

We need all four Gospels to give us an understanding of the life and teachings of the Lord.  The four Gospels present the Lord in four different aspects.

Matthew portrays Him as the King.

Mark portrays Him as a Servant.

Luke portrays Him as a Man.

John portrays Him as the Son of God.

When discussing this question, I placed my Bible case in front of some young ones and asked them to describe it. I then asked those who could see the other side of the case to describe what they saw. Both witnesses had different viewpoints and had different descriptions of the case. All were correct, but it took all to get a complete description of the Bible case.  We get a complete description of the life of Christ in the four Gospels the Lord has given us.

Question:

Is someone sinning in God’s eyes who is committing a sin but honestly does not think that it is a sin?

Answer:

The Bible often speaks of sins of ignorance (Leviticus 4:2; 5:15; Numbers 15:24; Luke 23:34; Acts 3:17; 17:30) which, nevertheless, require a sacrifice or forgiveness.

If one truly has sinned, wouldn’t his conscience bother him?  Not necessarily.  Everyone is born with an innate sense of right and wrong about certain major behaviors.  Even pagans have a sense of the wrong of sins like murder, stealing, and rape.  But one’s conscience can be “seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2) so that the heart may be hardened concerning even these gross sins.  Also, our consciences need to be instructed.  How?  By reading God’s Word.  The apostle Paul exercised himself “to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men” (Acts 24:16).  The Holy Spirit uses Scripture to convict us of sin, so we need to read and memorize Scripture so as to give the Holy Spirit material with which to speak to our hearts.

If a young Christian, uninstructed in the Word, sins, does God hold him responsible?  God is very patient with His children (see, for example, Luke 22:24-30), but He does expect us to grow in the knowledge of His Word (1 Peter 2:2) and live accordingly.  If a true believer in Christ sins, we know that Christ died for that sin (1 Corinthians 15:3) and has already forgiven that sin (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14).  The important question is whether the one who has sinned changes his ways if Scripture is brought to his attention or if he persists in his sin.  Sin has consequences.  It adversely affects the believer’s relationship with the Lord.  “If I regard iniquity in my heart [that is, keep on sinning], the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18).  “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old … Thy hand was heavy upon me…. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:3-5). “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

Question:

Why does God allow us to do all these sinful things?

Answer:

It is not the will of the Lord that we sin. There is never an excuse for sin, and the Lord will strengthen us through His Word, so that by walking in the Spirit, we won’t fulfill the lusts (sin) of the flesh.  The Lord, in his patience, is withholding his judgment on men against sin.  “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). His desire is that ALL men repent (Acts 17:30)…that ALL should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). 

Question:

Can someone who has passed away see what is going on on the earth or see what is going on in hell, just as the rich man saw Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom in heaven (Luke 16:23)?

Answer:

While the body is dead, the spirit is awake, “absent from the body and…present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).  The unsaved ones who die will experience torment, like the rich man in Luke 16.  This is not purgatory because no one escapes this place of torment (Luke 16:26-28).  However, this is not yet the actual lake of fire which awaits the final judgment.  Why is there a waiting period?  In Revelation 20:11-15 we read of the final judgment of the unsaved which takes place at the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ over the earth.  Just as the believers in Christ will be raised up at the rapture prior to the 1,000 year reign, soul and spirit being clothed with a resurrection body, so the unbelievers will have their bodies resurrected and joined with soul and spirit at the end of the 1,000 years to “stand before God” at the “great white throne” to be “judged out of those things that were written in the books, according to their works” and “cast into the lake of fire.”

Returning to the original question, just as a person inside a lighted home cannot see what is going on outside on a dark night, while a person outside can see what is going on inside a lighted home, so the rich man could see into heaven while there is no indication that Lazarus could see into hell.  Luke 15:10 suggests that the souls and spirits of departed believers “in the presence of the angels of God” will know, and have joy, when souls are saved on earth.  We don’t know if they are actively observing all that happens on earth or if the Lord informs them of certain happenings, such as the salvation of a soul.  We know for sure that the primary focus of these is Christ Himself: “Today you shall be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Question:

Does one need faith for miracles to take place?

Answer:

The greatest miracle that could happen to an individual—that of becoming saved— requires faith (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8).  Jesus said to the woman who touched the hem of His garment, “Daughter, be of good comfort; your faith has made you whole” (Matthew 9:22).  Then when He healed the two blind men, “He touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29).

In the raising up of Lazarus, Jesus said to Martha, “Said I not unto you that if you would believe, you should see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).  So faith was required to see this as a miracle rather than a coincidence or sleight of hand or a magic trick.

In healing of the lame man by Peter and John (Acts 3:1-11) it would appear that the faith was exercised on the part of those who healed rather than the one healed, for Peter said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”

Question:

If someone says that he/she is saved but knowingly continues to sin without asking for forgiveness can he/she go to heaven?

Answer:

If a person is truly saved, that person cannot be lost.  However, the question is worded, “If someone says that he/she is saved….”  1 John 3:9 says, “Whosoever is born of God does not commit [or practice] sin.”  We cannot know the heart of another person, but the person who is continuing in sin is not acting as if he/she were saved.  Matthew 7:20 says, “By their fruits you shall know them.”  James 2:14-26 talks about a man who says he has faith but exhibits no evidence of good works or is continuing in sin.  While, again, God knows our hearts, we have no right to count one as saved who gives no evidence of it in his/her life, and we should seek to warn and evangelize such a person.  Another relevant passage is Romans 6 which says that believers are counted by God as being “dead to sin” (verse 2) and therefore should not continue to live in sin (verses 11-14).

Question:

Matthew 18:9 reads, “It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.”  Does this mean life on earth or eternal life in heaven?

Matthew 18:9: “And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee; it is good for thee to enter into life one-eyed, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.”

Certainly no one will enter heaven crippled or maimed, but this passage most likely means entering eternal life having been crippled or maimed in this present life.

What about the second part of this verse?  Can a saved person be lost again and then be sent to hell?  In John 10:27-29, the Lord Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.  My Father, who gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.”

To whom was the Lord Jesus speaking in Matthew 18, and what is “the kingdom of heaven” (verse 1)?  Jesus was speaking to His disciples and the kingdom of heaven includes all who outwardly own the King.  People may become part of this kingdom by baptism or by profession of faith in Christ, but these are not necessarily saved.  Those who profess to be Christians but who continually allow their hand or foot or eye to lead them into sin are in danger of “hell fire.” True believers who have these sinful tendencies can only get the victory through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (by the fruit of “temperance” or self-control, Galatians 5:23).  Cutting off body parts (as suggested in Matthew 18:8,9) without living in the power of the Holy Spirit would not help.

Question:
Do you believe in the “Gap Theory”?

Answer:

The “Gap Theory” says that the account of the creation in Genesis, chapter one, is really a re-creation…back to the original state the world was created. Genesis 1:1,2: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” In the phrase, “was without form,” the word ‘was’ can be correctly translated ‘became.’ So, it appears that the world was not created without form, but came to be without form. 

Isaiah 45:18: “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.” In this verse in Isaiah the word “vain” is the same Hebrew word as “without form” in Genesis 1:2. This teaches us that although the world was without form, that is not the way the Lord created it. He formed it to be inhabited.

So … the “Gap Theory” says there is an undetermined amount of time between Genesis 1:1, and Genesis 1:2. “God created the heaven and the earth” … and it was perfect.  Something happened, and it became “without form.”  Some teach that this is when Lucifer was cast down from his position in Heaven. The six days of creation is when the Lord established order for His creation.

You asked if I believe in the Gap Theory. Yes, I do. However, I would not be dogmatic and try to force my thoughts on this matter on someone else. This issue is not significant enough, or brought out in Scripture clearly enough to become a matter of contention.

Question:

In Matthew 19:28 we read that the disciples “shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”  Who was the mother of the twelve sons of Israel (Jacob)?

Answer:

Jacob had four wives, Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah, who mothered his twelve sons.

Was it right for Jacob to have four wives?  “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).  The Lord Jesus makes this even clearer by quoting this verse, “And they two shall be one flesh.  Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:5,6).  A man cannot be “one flesh” with multiple wives.

Christian young people should be reminded that when considering marriage, they are to consider only one who both is a believer in Christ (2 Corinthians 6:14) and desires to please the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:39).

Question:

People facing peer pressure must ask themselves some questions.  “Isn’t being accepted by the Beloved more desirous to me than being accepted by man?”  “Why would I have a need to change my testimony for someone else?”  “What do they offer me?” 

1 Corinthians 15:33: “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.”  Also, Exodus 23:2: “You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice.”  Most of the people in the group came to the conclusion that peer pressure wasn’t in the form of a greasy, tattooed man trying to get you to smoke, but much of it was taking place among Christians—pressuring you to not act a certain way that you feel led to.  Peer pressure may not always cause harm, but it is getting used to doing what people want.  It is important when choosing friends to choose friends who want to serve the Lord.  As you grow as a Christian, fear will be easier to leave behind.  The new man doesn’t need to be accepted by the world.  To fear is against his nature.  If you don’t give in to pressure the first time, but do so later, you will be a hypocrite.  When you stand up and do what is right, it makes positive peer pressure.  Let people know where you stand.  Start praying for the person’s salvation and you’ll change the way you think about them, and you won’t be afraid of them.  After resisting pressure, you have a responsibility thereafter; they will be looking for a fault.  You will win their respect by not giving in to their pressures.  There are some friendships that won’t work out; you’ll have to leave.  There was a quote brought up: “Let me see your friends, and I’ll tell you what you’ll turn out like.”

“How do you regain your reputation in someone’s eyes after giving in to ungodly pressures?”  Jesus restored Peter after he denied Him.  Luke 22:62 says, “And he went out and wept bitterly.”  Confess what you did wrong, and turn from it.  2 Corinthians 7:9,10:  “I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.  For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”  In John 21:15 Simon tells the Lord that he loves Him, and the Lord tells him, “Tend My lambs.”  It’s encouraging because after we fail, He can still use us.

Question:
What does it mean to ‘walk by the Spirit’?

Answer:

We have only two options of walking—either as the world walks, or by the Spirit.  So, when you have free time, you should be filling it with God’s things; otherwise it will be things of this world.

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. . . . If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16 & 25).

Question:
How do we know that Jesus forgives the sins of the future?

Answer:

1 Peter 1:3:  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”  1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Colossians 1:20:  “And through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”  And Colossians 2:13: “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions.”

The book of Romans tells us that Christ “condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3) when He bore the wrath of God against our sins. God was satisfied with the work Christ did on the cross for He raised Him from the dead and received Him to His own right hand in the glory. So our sins will never be brought up by God against anyone who trusts in Christ!  How many of the sins that Jesus bore on the cross were future sins?  ALL OF THEM!

Question:
What is the difference between the Holy Spirit and the new nature?

Answer:

He gives us a whole new nature, not just fixing the old one, and He gave us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead whom Christ sent to indwell believers the moment they are saved.

Jesus said: “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16, 17).

“In whom [Christ] ye also have trusted, having heard the word of the truth, the glad tidings of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, ye have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the earnest of our inheritance to the redemption of the acquired possession to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13, 14; JND translation).

Question:
How can we get more outreach programs?

Answer:

If the Lord puts something on your heart, DO IT!  Start off small, and work up.  Ask people that normally do evangelism for some tips or opportunities to help them.  Take advantage of the meetings we already have by inviting your friends to those.  The assembly isn’t the boss, but Jesus Christ is our Boss.  In order to witness to the unsaved, you have to have a love for those people.  We need to see them as God loves them.  The question was then asked, “How do you develop a love for other people?”  We need to get over our own fears about witnessing.  We cannot rely on our own love, but only through Christ.  We love because He first loved us.  We must first love Christ.  Our fear makes us focus on ourselves and not on loving that person.  The more effort we put into sharing the gospel, the more we’ll care about it.   Another idea was to have a conviction of hell, and meditate on it.  That way you will realize the actuality of hell and that people are going there.  Mark 1:17: “And Jesus said to them, Follow Me and I will make you become fishers of men.”  If you aren’t following Christ, you won’t be fishers of men.  Evangelism should be part of your everyday life.  Be praying for situations ahead of time.  Carry tracts with you.  We don’t need to go to far off lands to witness.  There are unsaved all around!  Go and preach the gospel!

Question:

77.1—We talked a lot about yielding and presenting in the Bible Study Thursday morning. What is the difference between these and which one should we use? This is in Romans 6:13: “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God,” KJV).

Answer:

77.1—The King James version translates the Greek word, paristemi, with the word “yield” in Romans 6:13 and the word “present” in Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Either word is a correct translation. The Greek word paristemi means: “1) To place beside or near, 2) To stand beside, stand by or near, to be at hand, be present.” So the word “present” is closer to the meaning of the Greek word. When we “present” ourselves to God we do “yield” to Him. Romans chapter 6 emphasizes the fact that we “yield” ourselves, either to sin or to God. Romans 12 states our “service” as presenting our bodies to God for Him to use as He sees fit.

Question:
How do we follow Christ, since we can’t walk directly in His footsteps?

Answer:

We receive instruction from Him through His Word.  We have love for fellow Christians, as Jesus did. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34). We imitate how He acted in situations. Ephesians 5:1,2:  “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” We don’t have the power in ourselves to follow Christ. Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” He’ll give us the desire to love God, but we don’t have the power in ourselves.  The Spirit is the One who causes us to bear fruit as long as we abide in Christ. John 15:5: “I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.”